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Eco-friendly fashion

Oxfam has recently opened its first fashion boutique in London, capitalising on the trend toward vintage clothing and sustainable fashion in one fail swoop. With the support of former Top Shop director Jane Shepherdson and students from the London School of Fashion, the collection spans ‘Loved for Longer’ donated fashion, Fair Trade, organic, recycled and restyled clothes and accessories.

Sustainable fashion is now very much in vogue (excuse the pun) with all the main magazines leading articles on the subject. Larger retailers are becoming more keen to bring in new product lines that offer organic, fair trade, or other eco-innovative elements. According to Drapers, the first masters degree in ethical fashion has just landed on British shores.

'Make your mark in fashion' recently challenged 14-30 year olds to form a team and create a new range, to complement and enhance an established sustainable fashion label. The three finalists will be showcasing their collections in an exclusive catwalk show during London Fashion Week in September 2008.

If you want to read up on the issue of sustainability in product development, Trendwatching looks at the influence of the green mega trend in their latest briefing 'eco-iconic', with some great brand examples. Or try PSFK or the 'make your mark in fashion' link above.

Power brands 2008

Millward Brown Optimor's 2008 BrandZ report highlights the leading brands by sector and region. Google witnessed 30% growth in 2008 to reach a brand value of $86,057m, beating GE (General electric) and Microsoft to the top of the US league. Driven by innovation and uptake by consumers, technology and mobile operators have both performed well overall. Apple experienced 123% brand value growth and Vodafone was up 75%.

Personal care and fast food both saw strong growth as consumers sought out products with additional benefits that can improve health or that offer an indulgent experience. McDonald's continues to defy the negative connotations of 'fast food' perhaps aided by a healthier menu and more contemporary store environment. Gillette and L'Oreal continued to improve their dominance in the personal care sector.

The report also underlines the rising value of luxury brands, part of an industry worth some $400bn. An emerging band of affluent consumers in  emerging markets is one factor underpinning this growth. BMW and Louis Vuitton were the top luxury brands in Europe, ranked in third and frouth place overall and followed closely by Porsche and Mercedes.

Lots more in the report, which you can read here

Really real

The BBC's technology team recently got talking about the technological applications that are facilitating what it terms a ‘hyper-connected society'. Applications such as Twitter, Kyte TV and Jaiku are all mentioned as being drivers of this trend, to name a few. In tune with the global social media phenomenon, the BBC explains that hyper-connectivity is evidence of a growing band of consumers that are happy to share their lives in public and who are comfortable with being open and honest in front of potentially millions.

Universal McCann's Wave 3 study on social media provides a wealth of data on how the blogosphere is becoming increasingly participatory. Top of the agenda on blog content is talking about personal life and family, but one-third will also post opinions about products and brands on their blog.

So it stands to reason if consumers are being open, they expect brands to reciprocate. The trend towards 'authenticity' has been documented for a while now, but as social media has gained traction, so has the need for even more open, transparent and honest branding and communications. Trendwatching provides a great insight into this issue - called ‘Really Real', or if you want to dig deeper check out this book: Authenticity: What consumers really want, Gilmore & Pine.

And in case you missed the Universal McCann's report, here are a few key snippets from the exec summary:
• Asian markets are leading in terms of participation - China has the largest blogging community
• Video clips are the quickest growing platform on social media - 83% penetration
• Of it's 17,000 global respondents, 57% had joined a social network
• Blogs are a mainstream media and a collective rival to any traditional media - 48% include blogs as part of their weekly media diet

Brands on social networks

A few snippets from a report by digital agency Tamar contrasting the creation of unofficial brand groups on social networks with official branded content

- Only 30% of major financial organisations have an official online presence on the social media scene, but 80% are the subject of unofficial consumer groups

- In travel, few brands have pursued an official social media strategy on leading sites, but all leading brands have a lot of consumer support via unofficial groups.

- Retailers were found to be well entrenched with social media. All major brands have an official presence on a least one major social network. But retailers are also the focus of a lot of commentary from consumers, with a high proportion of unofficial groups.

The 2008 Social Media Sectors report, from digital agency Tamar, compared the number of unofficial consumer groups on Facebook, Myspace and Bebo with the top ten retail, financial and travel brands. You can read their blog here

Interest networking

In the fast changing world of social media, one new brand Twine currently still in beta is of particular interest to us. Unlike traditional social networks, Twine, is based around clustering interests - 'interest networking'. Instead of the user profile being the core element as with many social networks, subjects or topics of interests are the common currency. Although, the ability to be able to communicate with like-minded individuals that share similar interests is a key benefit.

A twine is basically a subject or topic and you can create your own or join others. It's beauty seems to lie as a reference tool. Once you've created your twine, you can add links with their social bookmarking system (the Bookmarklet), which works just like Del.icio.us. Once you're signed up to your favourite interest areas, you can hook up to feeds summarising all the latest news on your interests. Currently the most popular twines are ‘web 3.0 - semantic web' and ‘cool', a place for sharing unusually cool things on the web.

The website is based on semantic technology, which is a key part of web 3.0. In a recent article, Trendspotting highlights the importance of being able to manage the abundance of information we deal with day to day. Something where Twine will be very useful.

Interest networking

In the fast changing world of social media, one new brand Twine currently still in beta is of particular interest to us. Unlike traditional social networks, Twine, is based around clustering interests - 'interest networking'. Instead of the user profile being the core element as with many social networks, subjects or topics of interests are the common currency. Although, the ability to be able to communicate with like-minded individuals that share similar interests is a key benefit.

A twine is basically a subject or topic and you can create your own or join others. It's beauty seems to lie as a reference tool. Once you've created your twine, you can add links with their social bookmarking system (the Bookmarklet), which works just like Del.icio.us. Once you're signed up to your favourite interest areas, you can hook up to feeds summarising all the latest news on your interests. Currently the most popular twines are ‘web 3.0 - semantic web' and ‘cool', a place for sharing unusually cool things on the web.

The website is based on semantic technology, which is a key part of web 3.0. In a recent article, Trendspotting highlights the importance of being able to manage the abundance of information we deal with day to day. Something where Twine will be very useful.

Not so much doom and gloom

As the topic of recession continues to gain ground in the media, it’s good to see some positive trends. Below we highlight some companies that show signs of bucking the trend with strong sales results, or committing to significant business expansion. 

Retail: Consumer confidence in the UK high street has undoubtedly weakened, but some brands are shining. No-frills fashion brand Primark has defied weakening high street sales, with an increase in revenues of 25% to £899 million for the first quarter of 2008. Although its credentials have taken a beating on the ethical front, price-conscious consumers are undoubtedly attracted to this brand. House of Fraser, the UK department store has just embarked on a major expansion programme to move the brand upmarket. It’s new store in Belfast is now its largest and is part of some £60m being ploughed into stores.

In line with the general positive trend twoards internet advertising, e-Commerce is expected to remain healthy. According to a recent global survey conducted by The Nielsen Company, over 85 percent of the world’s online population has used the Internet to make a purchase, up 40 percent from two years ago. In the US, Forrester Research reports that online retail sales (excluding travel) will rise 17% in 2008 to $204bn. Tesco's latest results show that it's online retail business is one of its strongest areas. Internet sales now contribute 4.2% of Tesco's group profits and 3.1% of sales. Profits from Tesco's online foods sales were up almost 50% on sales that grew 31% and a customer base of more than one million active users that was up 20%.

Travel & tourism: In travel and tourism, although the World Travel and Tourism Council recently cut its projections for global tourism growth to 3% for 2008, with $8.4 billion expected in revenues, that is not deterring some. Sheraton has announced plans for its largest expansion in North America, where some £2bn will be spent on new hotels.

There is also still much confidence in business travel. A recent Barclaycard business survey with 3,000 business travellers, found 33% plan to travel more in 2008 than they did in 2007. Over three-quarters anticipate travelling the same amount or more due to general business or overseas expansion. However, economy travel will become more common due to cost-consciousness and the ongoing shift towards low-cost airlines. The annual survey saw EasyJet’s share increase from 7% to 15% and Ryanair from 3% to 8% year on year. BA remains the number choice with 28% of survey respondents.

Sources: Travelmole, Barclaycard business travel survey, Internet Retailing

A bit about travel

The British government recently announced it will be injecting some much needed capital into our local seasides. As part of its Seaside Change Initiative, some £45 million will be ploughed into so-called "faded" English seaside resorts over the next three years. From an environmental standpoint this is good news. There is definitely a need to encourage people to stay in the UK and reduce their airline carbon footprint. Research by VisitBritain, shows that consumers are increasingly choosing to take more short breaks, but going abroad remains a far popular choice.

In 2007, domestic trips taken purely for holiday purposes grew by 1% in volume and +5% in value, according to Visit Britain, but outbound tourism is outpacing this. In Europe, British consumers continue to be drawn by no-frills arlines giving them access to more routes at low prices, while the $ is currently a major pull to US shores.

New research by Halifax Travel Insurance found that short breaks to far-flung destinations are actually on the rise. A total of one-in-ten Brits are planning a so-called 'breakneck break' this year, flying at least seven hours for a holiday lasting less than a week. The number of such trips to the US increased 35% in 2007 according to the survey.

As the green movement evolves and sustainable tourism becomes more important, it will be interesting to see how many consumers will be willing to forfeit their overseas holidays to stay in the UK. Holidays are now much more of necessity for many consumers and with time a precious commodity, consumers what to make the most of their leisure time. The ever increasing range of cheap overseas options is bound to remain a major pull.

Some qualitative research by England Marketing in Spring 2007 revealed that sustainable tourism in the UK was still in its infancy. It found that being "responsible" is perceived by consumers as somewhat of an effort and luxury, although consumers believe it will become more a necessity over time.

Sources: Travelmole, VisitBritain, International Passenger Survey